My first therapist had her office in her home. It had a separate entrance hidden around the back, which made me feel unwelcome, like I was supposed to be embarrassed about being there. The office was decorated tastefully and expensively. But what I disliked most about it was that it made the therapist seem lazy. She wore lounge clothes, curled her feet up on her chair, hugged a big pillow and had her coffee while I was trying my hardest to get to the bottom of a life-destroying depression. It seemed inappropriate to me.

My current therapist has a modest, pleasant office in a lovely old building. No receptionist. Nice, big windows, very quiet - a very non-threatening place. The furniture is simple, a little old - nothing special. What I like best about it is that it seems to me a neutral space. He leaves home and goes there; I leave home and go there; it's where we meet, a separate place. It feels free of associations. That neutral, quiet atmosphere helps me speak freely.